Water motor



WATER MOTOR Filed Feb. 28, 192; 2 Sheets-Sheet i "Aug. 24 1926;

1,597,137 T. P. WRIGHT WATER MOTOR Filed Feb. 28, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2[HI/anfor: Thama s WI l gh t.

Patented Aug. 24, 1926.

1,s97,13r ole are a...

'rHoMAsr. warenr, onrononTo; onmnaro, Mariana-{Assu ance roiaonnin.Ransom on. nocnnsrnnannw. YORK.

Application filed-February The" principal objects of this invention"are; to"enabl'e the motor-being; used -under varying "conditions ofwater levels-to produce'maximuinpower; and w allow of the ready removalof f the motor-from-danger of ice-orother floatingiobjectsliable toinjure thesam'e. l r

A still further object isto produce a wheel of extremely light but"rigid construe tion:

The principal feature of the invention consistsfin" the novelarrangement of a wheel j ournal. and support carried-upon an inclinedsupport, whereby tlfe'carriage-may-be moved up or "ddw'nthe incline toregulate the position'of the "'lowerpart' of {the wheel in'relm tionitothe "water," and wherebyWhe rotation o-feaid wheel"- is :transmit ted fto the power ilnechanism' atf'whatever"position itmay be bid;

i A"- furtherifnpprtrlnt feature consists in the novelmanner-of""pivoting= the blades and interconnectingthe'same"toeffecflthe mutual support-between the blades and to lightenthe construction.-

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved formof water wheel with part of the frame and carriage broken away showingthe machine for trans mitting the power.

Figure 2 is a plan View, a portion of the wheel vanes being broken away.

Angularly placed water motors arranged to dip the lower side of thewheel into a running stream have been proposed but while the means havebeen provided for withdrawing such motors from the water in case ofdanger of damage from ice, under such conditions the wheel is withdrawnfrom service but no provision has been made for maintaining the wheel inservice at various water levels.

According to the present invention a frame 1 is erected upon the edge ofthe bank of a stream, said frame having an inclined trackway 2 on theupper side, which trackway is here shown projecting beyond the lower endof the frame.

Upon the trackway 2 is slidably arranged a carriage 3 adapted to slidethereon and upon this carriage is mounted the water wheel base 1.

The carriage is supported by the cable 5 which extends upwardly of thetrackwa-y and secured to the sheaves 6 at the top in- 2'8f1925. Serialm; 12:44:22.

nerfend of' th'e' frame: A double notched and paw-l arrangement 7 issecurely fastened to one side'of -'tlie-f1'ame andthrough its on eration the sheave-G is rotated to' wind the cable and lmove the -carriage -onthe *trackayto any-desired position.

The wheel base e is provided .with' a "pl-LP rality of bracket members 8radially ar ranged and in each of -"these bracket members is ivemnysecured a wheel vane 9b The vanes 'are formed' of li-ght sheet metal- 3having" rein-fdrcing' bars 10 and- 11 i at the" top and bottom ed'ges;the -innerends of which are "secured in' a casting 12""whieh is providedwith a fiat portion w -adapted to ezitend between the *jaw portions 14of the bracket members 4 Si Thewouter ends of th'efvanes are turned atan angle to themain bed'yy irrorder 'to receive *the maximumof pressureof "the water: Each -vane-has secured thereto adjacent tothe outer endand aboutjnii-dway ofht-s height a-clouble-lug* 15 provided with aiholeateach-side of the vanez, Tie-nods "116*" extend b etween--the lugsle-"being hooked into--tlie-lugs and secured by suitable cotter pins.

A hub 17 projects perpendicularly from the centre of the wheel base 4and carries :1 disc 18 at the top and from this disc extend the radialsupporting wires 19 which are connected to the vanes 9 at the upper edgeclose to the outer end. These upper wires form additional supports tothe vanes and relieve the strain of the weight of the vanes from theinner ends.

It will be seen that by the pivotal arrangement of the vanes described aperfectly flexible wheel is produced so that in the event of any one ofthe vanes coming into contact with a floating object the vane will swingupwardly on its pivot without injury to the wheel; and the entire wheelbeing interconnected by the tie rods 16 is rigidly supported.

A shaft 20 extending through the hub 17 of the wheel base 4:, which issecurely fastened thereto, is provided with a bevel gear '21 at itslower end. A shaft 22 having a key way 23 is rotatably supported in bearings 24c and 25 connected to the frame 1 and has secured to its innerend a bevel gear 26. A bevel gear 27 is securely held from rotation onthe shaft 22 by a suitable feather key arranged in the hub 29 of thegear and sliding in the keyway 23 of the shaft. The

gear 27 meshes with the gear 21 and the shaft is rotated by the rotationof the wheel. The bevel gear 26 supported on the upper end of the shaft22 meshes with a gear 30 carried on the shaft 31, This shaft 31 issupported in bearings 32 and 33 connectedv suitable belt operating onthe pulley 34.

The power developed is preferably utilized to drive a suitable electricgenerator or of course it may be used direct by any suitable form ofmachine.

It will be seen that as the level of the water in the stream rises orrecedes the Wheel may be moved correspondingly upon the inclinedtrackway so as to maintain a most effective contact With the Water or itcan be entirely withdrawn from the water in the event of danger to thestructure. If desirable the frame 1 may be arranged on skids so that italso may be Withdrawn from a danger zone.

The construction described is extremely simple and produces the requiredresult in a most effective manner.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A water motor, comprising a framehaving an inclined trackway, journal bearings fixedly mounted at theupper and lower ends of said frame centrally of its width, a shaftjournalled in said bearings and having a longitudinal key-Way, acarriage movably supported on said frame, a water wheel having a centralshaft perpendicularly journalled on said carriage, a bevel gear securedto the lower end of said wheel shaft, a bevel gear 'slidably mounted onthe longitudinal shaft supported in said frame, and supported by saidcarriage in mesh with the bevel gear mounted on the wheel shaft andadapted to travel with said carriage in sliding engagement with saidlongitudinally keyed shaft, and means for transmitting power from saidlongitudinal shaft.

2. A water motor, comprising, a rotatable member having a plurality ofbracket members radially arranged, a plurality of vanes each formed withlight sheet metal and having its ends pivoted in said lugs and adaptedto swing upwardly, a shaft fixed in the axis of said rotatable memberandeX- tending upwardly, a plurality of flexible wires connected to saidshaft and having their outer ends connected one to each of said vanes tosupport the weight of said vanes, flexible interconnecting rods arrangedbetween said vanes, a carriage supporting said wheel, an inclinedt-rackway supporting said carriage, means for moving said carriage onsaid trackway, and means for transmitting the power developed by saidwheel in various positions.

THOMAS P. l/VRIGHT.

